It’s Tuesday morning following a Monday night football disappointment. For fans of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the sky feels like it is undoubtedly falling. Not only did the Bucs get embarrassed on the national stage last night, but they also saw both their star wide receivers go down with injuries.
We have had nearly 12 hours to process everything we saw and I am asking the fan base to collectively take a deep breath. Although there were problems in this game, there were also good things to take away as well. It might seem like it right now, but I promise you things aren’t all bad with the Bucs.
In fact, outside of the injury I come away from this game largely encouraged. I expound on why in my week seven takeaways.
Buccaneers Offensive Line Looked Great
A lot was made about the Baltimore Ravens run defense in this game. They had been smothering against opponents rushing attacks and had earned every bit of praise they received. Although, you might not have felt that way if you only watched them against the Bucs last night.
Coming into this game, the Ravens had allowed game averages per rush of 3.6, 1.6, 3.2, 3.5, 3.1 and 2.9. The Bucs were able to average 4.2 yards per carry in this game, which is easily the most the Ravens have allowed this year. Emerging running back Sean Tucker averaged 5.8 yards per carry by himself.
These results were reflective of the Bucs offensive line. They had their way in the running game all night against the best competition in the NFL. It was the first time since week one that the entire starting unit was together and we got a glimpse of what they are capable of.
I was particularly impressed with Graham Barton and Cody Mauch. For a vast majority of the night they made Nnamdi Madubuike (an All Pro in 2023 with 13.0 sacks last year) a nonfactor in this game. This interior duo of Mauch and Barton continue to progress and this is a huge reason for the emergence of the Buccaneers rushing attack.
Defensive Line Also Won Upfront
Not to be outdone, the Bucs defensive line also played very well. I consistently saw flashes from young stars like Calijah Kancey and Yaya Diaby. If not for playing against the greatest mobile quarterback in NFL history, this group would have piled up sacks in this game.
I also thought they were largely good against the run. Granted, a pair of long runs from Derrick Henry in the second half made it look like a dominating performance for the Ravens on the ground. However, more often than not the Bucs front limited his damage on a down in, down out basis.
There is every reason to be very optimistic about this group moving forward. Kancey and Vita Vea have emerged as one of the best defensive tackle duos in the NFL and are a unique mix of power and mobility to shut down the run and explosive athletic ability as a pass rusher. On top of that Logan Hall has also come on this year and seems like he is trending in the right direction.
Middle Malfunction
The middle of the Buccaneers defense continued to be a problem in this game. Linebacker K.J. Britt is nothing short of a liability. His lack of speed has always made him vulnerable against the pass, but now it’s being exposed in the running game due to his poor angles. He is far and away the biggest problem on the Bucs right now and I am begging Jason Licht to make a move to address this.
However, Britt was not the only culprit. Veteran safety Jordan Whitehead also had a rough game. This is not the first time that I’ve typed out these words this season and I am begging to fear that Whitehead just isn’t going to recapture the magic he had with the Bucs in their Super Bowl run.
Finally, I have to mention Lavonte David. I’m not sitting here and telling you that he’s a bad player at this stage in his career. Frankly, if his name was Bobby Wagner then he’d probably be getting All Pro talk with his current level of play. However, I can’t deny that he has lost a step and can’t cover up for the shortcomings of those around him any more.
The Injuries
This is the thing that everyone is talking about this morning. Losing Mike Evans in the first half was a devastating moment that felt like it sucked all the life out of the Bucs team. Things began to spiral only after he went out.
Hopefully, that won’t be a long term injury for Evans. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like that will be the case for Chris Godwin. It was reported after the game that he dislocated his ankle and that his season is over.
As much as we all love Godwin and as well as he was playing this year, the Bucs are positioned to overcome this injury. They have the depth to fill his role, although not at the level that Godwin was playing. It feels cold to say the morning after such an awful injury, but realistically he is replaceable from a relative production standpoint.
The question today is what Evans’ status will be moving forward. What he brings to the offense, what he means to Baker Mayfield and the attention he takes away from his teammates because he is the focal point of the defensive game plan; none of that is replaceable. My expectations for the Bucs don’t change in light of the Godwin injury, but if Evans is lost for significant time then that is the type of thing that can derail a season.
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